OK, I'm a Dinosaur. I actually like sets like 10x100 on the same interval all the way through.
Why do all of the sets have to have some kind of break in stride or change in interval or undefined purpose today? I have been swimming in Masters long enough to know that our bread is buttered by the fitness swimmers and their singular lack of desire to compete. But do the coaches believe that we are all ADD enough not to be able to complete one set on one interval ? Or do we as swimmers really pose such a dilemma that the coaches do the very worst thing possible - try to make every one happy. The ultimate result of that is to make virtually no one happy.
If you are giving a set to your swimmers, can you tell them what it (the set) should accomplish for them? What they should get out of it? If you simply gave the same set oveer and over again every day, it would become boring, of course. But it would also become a benchmark to which each swimmer could chart his or her progress. A desireable outcome by any standard, I would venture.
I fully realise that the Masters coach is handed a bewildering array of talent and motivation with his swimmers, but you, as a coach, do not have to confuse, bewilder or befuddle your swimmers with meaningless or useless sets. Keep them simple and straghtforward, with one defining mission per set. There is nothing surer to get me to go home as a (competitive) swimmer than a set with multiple intervals and distances, changing intensity and changing strokes. And don't deny that you give such sets. Many coaches thrive on designing sets that are like circuit training in the water. I would go on and on, but I have to get up early to find out what new torture my coach has in store. Take it away, folks.
I will participate again on a team where the coach and I share a training philosphy and we work together towards my goals. A planned and posted workout is part of that process for me. I will not swim for a club that doesn't post the workout. Its my choice.
I swim *** stroke. I have been doing it enough years to focus my training around that stroke. Yes I will swim strength drills, lactate drills, long slow distance as called for in the season.
But I would rather know going into a workout that I had an opportunity to set workout goals and to push certain things. If I see that there are 3 x 300 stroke desend by 100s I would set that as my main set vs worrying about desending 20 x 100's free style 1-5, 6-10 etc.
It does not mean that I would necessarily slack off on another set; I eventually took up the 400 IM competitively because I enjoyed it as a challenge set in practice and I have set my personal bests in the 100 fly starting out a 400 IM.
But I train to compete in the 100 and 200 *** stroke. I was never and will never be competative in the 100 free, my personal best 100 fly beats my 100 free. Swimming a few thousand more 100 frees sets is not going to make me a competative freestyler.
The only time I will be swimming backstroke (other than an IM Set) is when I am in Purgatory atoning for my sins .
That's my choice. An unannouced 30 minute swim for distance is not what my program is about and if a coach blindsides me like that, he or she is going to hear about it.
I will participate again on a team where the coach and I share a training philosphy and we work together towards my goals. A planned and posted workout is part of that process for me. I will not swim for a club that doesn't post the workout. Its my choice.
I swim *** stroke. I have been doing it enough years to focus my training around that stroke. Yes I will swim strength drills, lactate drills, long slow distance as called for in the season.
But I would rather know going into a workout that I had an opportunity to set workout goals and to push certain things. If I see that there are 3 x 300 stroke desend by 100s I would set that as my main set vs worrying about desending 20 x 100's free style 1-5, 6-10 etc.
It does not mean that I would necessarily slack off on another set; I eventually took up the 400 IM competitively because I enjoyed it as a challenge set in practice and I have set my personal bests in the 100 fly starting out a 400 IM.
But I train to compete in the 100 and 200 *** stroke. I was never and will never be competative in the 100 free, my personal best 100 fly beats my 100 free. Swimming a few thousand more 100 frees sets is not going to make me a competative freestyler.
The only time I will be swimming backstroke (other than an IM Set) is when I am in Purgatory atoning for my sins .
That's my choice. An unannouced 30 minute swim for distance is not what my program is about and if a coach blindsides me like that, he or she is going to hear about it.
